The Board Beneath the Bouquet
Chapter 08 - The Board Beneath the Bouquet
The man Camille looked at was named Preston Hale.
He had served on the Whitmore Foundation board for eleven years and spoke often about stewardship, legacy, and moral responsibility. He had kissed Serena on both cheeks when she arrived at the garden that morning and told her that her mother would be proud.
Now he stood near the terrace doors with his hand on his phone, pretending not to sweat.
Edward noticed him at the same moment Serena did.
“Preston,” Edward said.
The man smiled. “Edward, this has gone far enough. The police can handle whatever domestic misunderstanding occurred. Your guests are frightened.”
“My daughter was targeted during her wedding.”
“Allegedly.”
Serena felt the word land like a slap.
Allegedly.
A woman could be standing in a stained wedding dress beside evidence, witnesses, and the man who had lied to her, and still a board member would sand the edges off the truth if it protected the right signatures.
Mia spoke before anyone else could. “He met Mr. Vale this morning.”
Preston frowned. “Excuse me?”
“I saw you near the west fountain. You gave him a folder.”
“That is ridiculous.”
Mia’s face paled, but she did not lower her gaze. “It was dark green. Gold clip. You told him the timing had to happen before the vows.”
Preston’s mouth opened, then closed.
Edward’s cane struck the stone once. “Take his phone.”
Preston stepped back. “You have no authority—”
“I own the ground under your feet.”
The old man’s voice was not loud, but every person heard it.
A detective approached Preston. The board member looked toward Julian, and in that look Serena saw the shape of the trap: Julian got the bride, Preston got influence over foundation assets, Camille got money and revenge, and Serena got a beautiful cage built from paperwork no one expected her to read clearly.
Her mother’s foundation. Her voting shares. The hospital grants. The scholarships.
All of it would have shifted in one afternoon.
Serena turned to Mia. “Why did you remember the folder?”
Mia hesitated. “Because my mother used to carry one like it.”
Edward went still.
“What was your mother’s name?”
“Elena Keller.”
The air changed around Edward. The color left his face in a way even Julian’s betrayal had not caused.
Serena looked between them. “Dad?”
Edward whispered, “Elena worked for us twenty years ago.”
Mia’s eyes sharpened. “She said your family destroyed her.”
May you like
The garden fell silent again.
One wedding had opened two wounds.
